We note that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Suffolk?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Suffolk.
We are buying a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Suffolk. We would like to carry out an extension to the side at the house.Will the conveyancing process include checks to determine if these works are prohibited?
Your conveyancer will check the deeds as conveyancing in Suffolk can sometimes reveal restrictions in the title documents which prohibit categories of works or necessitated the permission of another owner. Many works call for local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.
I can not work out if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Suffolk bank branch on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Suffolk conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend based on their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.
Your lawyer has to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two conditions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Suffolk. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A few days later, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Leeds Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Will our conveyancer be making enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Suffolk.
The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Suffolk. There are those who purchase a property in Suffolk, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.
Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Suffolk. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the owner to discover whether the premises has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the seller, then a purchaser could issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect reply. The buyer’s lawyers may also conduct an enviro search. This should disclose if there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations should be made.
Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Suffolk. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Birmingham Midshires. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. Is it worth asking Birmingham Midshires to clarify?
You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Suffolk and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.
How does conveyancing in Suffolk differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build premises in Suffolk come to us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because developers in Suffolk tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Suffolk or who has acted in the same development.